1842 was a very prolific year for Robert Schumann, witnessing the composer’s first forays into chamber music. While his wife, Clara, was concertizing in early 1842, Robert spent his time brooding and studying the string quartets of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. On Clara’s return in early April, Robert flew into a compositional frenzy that resulted in what musicologists refer to as his “Year of Chamber Music,” in which he wrote his quartet and quintet for piano and strings as well as several other chamber works.

Experience the exotic sounds of Spain in a program spanning six centuries of music. Blending European, Moorish, and Sephardic musical traditions, the music of Spain developed a musical syncretism of modes, textures, and timbres all its own. The concert will highlight our newly restored harpsichord in a performance of Manuel de Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto.

A haunting program of musical depictions of war drawing inspiration from various historical conflicts, from the Crusades to the Vietnam War. These works share their portrayals of the brutality of war and the resilience of the human spirit.

The 1960s were a time of social, political, and cultural unrest and this manifested itself in the art and music of the period. Complementing the Albright-Knox’s exhibition Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, the concert program explores the various musical trends of the 1960s, including Minimalism, phase music, recorded sound, dance, mechanical works, and performance art.

Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein were towering figures in early-twentieth century American theater. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s season-long exploration of the works of Kurt Weill continues with this center stage performance of chamber music composed by each man. Presented in partnership with Buffalo Chamber Players, the audience will sit on the stage of Kleinhans Music Hall surrounding the musicians for a visceral musical experience.

Do you play an instrument? Then join us for a workshop and performance of Terry Riley’s In C at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery! Premiered in 1964 at the San Francisco Tape Music Center, the Riley’s In C is a reactionary piece to the stifling rigidity of serialism and music academia of the time.

We will begin with a brief workshop explaining the piece, its history, and how our community performance will unfold. All you need is your instrument or your voice, the ability to read music, and an open mind! Non-playing participants are welcome too. Together we will create a memorable performance experience of this seminal minimalist work.

Historically, chamber music programs have been predominately strings-only affairs, neglecting the rich repertoire for wind and percussion instruments. However, hidden in the Baroque tradition is a set of works for winds by Telemann highlighting the virtuosity of the early wind instruments. By the twentieth century, composers such as Poulenc and Reich mastered the rich melodic and playful nature of wind and percussion music.

In 1964, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Lukas Foss created the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts at the University at Buffalo with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Center’s Creative Associates presented a regular concert series in the Albright-Knox’s Auditorium that revolutionized the music world and helped establish Buffalo as the epicenter of contemporary, avant-garde music in the 1960s and 1970s. This program celebrates this exciting time of musical innovation in Buffalo’s history.

Music between the World Wars was bursting with a new creative life, and from cabaret to twelve-tone music, the Weimar Republic brimmed with this energy. This program features some of the popular and eventually banned music and composers of this artistically rich time period, including works by Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, and Kurt Weill.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 716.270.8292, or in person at the Albright-Knox Admissions Desk.

Discover the music of women composers, including those that fought against the societal restrictions limiting their music from the public sphere. The program highlights works from the Baroque to today, including compositions by Isabella Leonarda, Amy Beach, Florence Price, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Sofia Gubaidulina, Missy Mazzoli, and the premiere of a new work written for us by BCP composer-in-residence Rob Deemer based on a letter by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179).

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 716.270.8292, or in person at the Albright-Knox Admissions Desk.

In The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, Argentinean-born composer Osvaldo Golijov channels the spiritual life and writings of Isaac the Blind, the 12th-century Kabbalist rabbi of Provence. Scored for klezmer clarinet and string quartet, the work presents Golijov’s musical language that seamlessly blends various styles into a unique, evocative composition that is both contemporary and timeless.

The program also includes Johannes Brahms’s late masterpiece for the same instrumentation, the Clarinet Quintet in b minor, Op. 115.

Join us Friday, July 21 at 7:30 pm for a special performance celebrating our partnership with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The concert features the music of Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) in the Albright-Knox’s beautiful Sculpture Court.

The program includes Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for soprano, alto, strings, and continuo (1736), with soprano Lydia Evans and alto Lynne McMurtry, and a fully staged performance of his comic opera La serva padrona (1733), with soprano Colleen Marcello, baritone James Wright, and actor David Bondrow.

The evening offers a rare opportunity to experience these masterworks performed by an all-star cast in an intimate setting. Seating is very limited and we encourage you to purchase your tickets in advance. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 716.270.8292, or in person at the Albright-Knox Admissions Desk.

The dance portion of the program will be preceded by instrumental works by three contemporary composers highlighting our local musical talent. BPO bassist Brett Shurtliffe dazzles in Tom Johnson’s fiendishly difficult and aptly titled Failing: A Very Difficult Piece for Solo String Bass, BPO trombonist Timothy Smith sizzles in Corrado Saglietti’s jazz-influenced Suite for alto trombone and string quartet, and the ensemble premieres a new work by BCP composer-in-residence Caroline Mallonée, Curtains of Light: Eight Overlapping Soundscapes for mixed septet.

A whimsical program of animals in music from the Baroque to the contemporary, with works by Luciano Berio, Heinrich Biber, Felix Mendelssohn, Francis Poulenc, and Franz Schubert, with special guests Vocális Chamber Choir and BPO concertmaster Dennis Kim.

The Buffalo Chamber Players celebrates its tenth anniversary season with special guests JoAnn Falletta on guitar and BPO concertmaster Dennis Kim, with works by Niccolò Paganini, W.A. Mozart, Jean Françaix, and a new work for strings by Western New York composer Rob Deemer.

Historically, chamber music repertoire and programming has heavily favored certain instrument combinations, such as the string quartet and the piano trio. Fortunately, some composers also ventured beyond these well-trodden choices, creating exciting and innovative alternatives. We celebrate these with a program of unconventional instrument combinations, with works by Frank Bridge, Michael Haydn, Caroline Mallonée, Sergey Prokofiev, and Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec.

While composing his chamber concerto Dumbarton Oaks, Igor Stravinsky recounts that he “played Bach regularly and was greatly attracted to the Brandenburg Concertos. Whether or not the first theme of my [first] movement is a conscious borrowing from the third Brandenburg, however, I do not know.” The Buffalo Chamber Players presents Stravinsky’s neoclassical masterpiece alongside works by Classical masters.

In addition, we are hosting Florestan Recital Project for the world premiere of Ben Gunn, a portrayal in song of the castaway in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The work presents three original poems by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon with music by composer Scott Wheeler. We are honored to have Mr. Wheeler in attendance for the performance.

We perform Copland's Piano Quartet (1950) as part of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's concert presentation "Copland and the Cold War." The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Burchfield Penney Art Center.